Environmental Factors Essay Example for Free

Environmental Factors Essay There are many environmental factors that affect the global and domestic marketing strategies of organizations. What is necessary is an assessment of the company’s attempts at positioning its product to meet the needs of an undisclosed market. Environmental factors always affect the domestic and international marketing performance of companies in many environments. What environmental factors do is that they shape and set targets on the entry and operational decisions of Coca Cola Limited. Established in 1886, Coca Cola owns four of the world’s top five nonalcoholic beverages, operates in over two hundred countries and serves over one point five billion consumers locally and international. The environmental factors that Coca Cola has to battle with include the level of competition, cultural attributes, consumer characteristics, political and legal concerns. These factors have an impact on both the potential local and international marketing functions of the company. One factor affecting the marketing decisions of Coca Cola is competition among alcoholic beverages. These competitive factors include pricing, advertising, production innovation and brand and trademark development and protection. Of interest to us is the fact that one of Coca Cola’s major competitors is PepsiCo. The marketing decisions of the company have to be guided strategically because it impacts on the actual sales levels of the firm. Coca Cola continues to maintain a cutting edge in the industry because it continues to uphold its hallmarked values of refresh the world, inspiring moments of optimism and creating value through making a difference. Cultural also has a part to play in the marketing decisions of Coca Cola. Of later, governments across the world have been placing pressure on beverage companies to regulate alcohol content because they affect consumer’s thinking. While Coca Cola does not have to fight up with this cultural implication, it may have to attend to means of re-establishing consumer loyalty. For example, Marketing Coca-Cola in China has been a long and trying road. Firstly opening bottling plants in Shanghai and Tianjin in 1927 and then a third plant opened in Qingdao in 1930, Coca had a fight gaining a solid marketing lead. After a 30-year absence from the country, The Coca-Cola Company re-entered China in 1979, following the re-establishment of relations between China and the United States. Coca-Cola was the first American consumer product to return to China and is doing very well today. Another environmental factor affecting Coca Cola’s development of effective marketing tools and campaigns across the world is legal requirements for entry and set up. All multinational companies are forced to abide by laws requiring high tax entries although maximum profits are to be repatriated. It is Coca Cola’s policy to comply to consumer protection laws, occupational, health and safety acts, and local statues and regulations concerning advertising, transportation, distribution and food and safety laws. Additionally, Coca Cola’s principle challenge was is water resource management which in some countries is bound by legalities. In 2004, the company was forced to take a major step in reducing the potential impact of climatic damage via the use of coolers and vending machines. So that dealing with legal implications enabled Coca Cola to adapt a marketing strategy that considers its social responsibility. The end result of that was Coca Cola, partnering with the United Nations Environment Programme and Greenpeace International as a means of finding natural refrigerants. Explain how technology impacts the organizations marketing decisions. Coca Cola decisions have been affected by the impact of technology. In an interview done by a researcher, he commented that â€Å"as industry leaders it is Coca Cola’s responsibility to invest in the research and development necessary to develop economically viable and commercially available refrigeration solutions to take us toward an HFC-free, climate-friendly future. We hope that other companies will join our commitment to sustainable refrigeration. By working together, we can continue to reduce the impact of commercial equipment on the environment. † It is obvious that Inorder for Coca Cola to remain a leader in the beverage industry there was the need to re-examine its products and production processes; its packaging, design, equipment and quality assurance. Coca Cola attempts to strike a balance between the use of modern and traditional technologies depending on the marketing initiative and project location. Interestingly, with the launch of eKOfreshment, Coca Cola used more than ten different technological options to improve its environmental performance, regulatory compliance and overall price and operational costs. The end result of using technology as a point of reference for marketing is the winning of the United States Environmental Protection Agencys Climate Protection Award for their joint efforts in promoting the development of environmentally friendly commercial refrigeration technology through the creation of the refrigerants naturally coalition. So that as Coca Cola evolves with technology its marketing habits and values change to accommodate consumer characteristics and behaviours. Of great importance to Coca Cola is their social responsibility and ethical considerations of which its management has found to be a contributing factor to the development of a strong marketing campaign globally. In analyzing its importance, we must consider the company’s priority; its marketplace, workplace, environment and community. To us, this is a key side; Coca Cola has opted to have social responsibility as a sub heading to their website. In the marketplace, they take pride in quality, marketing more than 450 brands and over 2,800 beverage products, just still living up to giving our consumers a choice of still or sparking beverages that refresh, hydrate, energize or nourish. Our ethical value is that each of those products must be of the highest quality and must meet consumers changing tastes, needs and expectations. In each of the more than 200 countries where we operate, Coca Cola is an active member of the business community, working hand in hand with local individuals, merchants and governments to improve the health and prosperity of the local economy and environment. We know that the continued health and sustainable growth of our business depends on the long-term health of the communities that surround it. After all, we need healthy consumers, communities, environments and economies for our business to thrive. So we encourage human right laws in the workplace as our business ultimately depends on the combined talents, skills, knowledge, experience and passion make Coca Cola who it is. Wherever Coca Cola operates, it seeks to get involved in the work of communities, governmental organizations and NGOs to create and support projects most relevant to them. Marketing is a critical step in the success or failure of a company. For Coca Cola, an international company operating in years of integrity and business sense, today they have stood to repeat the rewards of their actions. Together with many other partners, this company continues to forge it way to be a continued leader in the beverage industry. Reference Blythe, Jim. (2004). Canada. Financial Times Prentice Hall.